Earn Your Stripes

Earn Your Stripes

It was hard to resist getting a Uniqlo striped polo shirt in this particular stripe. Too many conontations to dole out, but on a personal level this particular stripe is tinged with photo album sepia for me, with all the menfolk in my family, from my dad to my grandpa, once photographed whilst sporting this specific sort of stripy polo in the 70s, posing in front of the Eiffel Tower or proudly next to their banged up vehicle of choice. I have no idea why this stripe (and I tried very hard to find a specific name for it other than irregular/multi-coloured stripe) has '70s dad' written all over it but there you go and for that reason alone in a tighter fit, I had to give it a bash for Uniqlooks.

Of course, a stripy polo in dress form will forever be tied with Margot Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums. How many posts exist, dedicated to the lone pairing of said polo dress with fur coat and hair barrette and those sad kohl-lined eyes? A telling sign would be that a quick Google search yields not just images of Gwyneth Paltrow in the film but also countless illustrations and Halloween costume efforts to portray Margot…

On to more recent films, the polo shirt also picked up nuances of the spritely and notably adorable wardrobe of the character Midori in the Anh Hung Tran film adapation of the Haruki Murakami novel Norwegian Wood, portrayed by model/actress Kiko Mizuhara. Barrettes, stripy shirts, primary colours and a blend of preppy and mod-ish ensembles flood Midori's wardrobe, which plays a part consecrating Midori as the upbeat and teasing distraction for the male protagonist Watanabe.

I'm unlikely to do 70s poppy/preppy as well as Midori in the film does but I do love picking out the hues of the stripes in the polo shirt to place into a three-skirted ensemble. Yes, my version of preppy involves wearing three skirts all at once… go figure…

Jo: Yeah, I got the skirt when I was in Hong Kong years ago… I still dig it up from time to time…
Shini: Oh PLEASE – at least you get the essence of the polo shirt… I on the other hand bunged three skirts with what is a simple shirt…
Joy: I just commented in your BEAUTIFUL blog… lovely musings!

Hmmm it’s time to revive my old vibrant blue Fred Perry polo hidden in the back wardrobe, I’m not very good with stripes esp when they sit on the chest area…stripes would look distortional if you have a large upper mass. I stick to polka dots.

I love Midori’s style in Norwegian wood, I loved that movie! It’s such a great adaption and those are definitely rare. I think Kiko Mizuhara is pretty great too- she’s come SUCH a long way from her roots in Japanese teen fashion mags!

My dad still wears those exact same striped polo shirts around the house, even now, they’re a “dad” look irrespective of era. I’d never wear his, but I like the extended placket on your shirt- it makes a huge difference to the way it looks- less stuffy, somehow.
And I love that you mentioned Norwegian Wood here, I’ve been looking forward to that movie for months now.

Kit: Well, sadly I don’t have a ‘large upper mass’… neither do you come to think of it! But you’re right, polka dots are cuter…
Winnie: Yeah she’s actually really good in it as well… I thought she really nailed the part….
Olive: I just took three parts and layered it over… first the white skirt, then a half apron skirt (it used to come with another skirt but I just took it apart) and then a cape that I used to form the other half… I didn’t really make it – just put them together…
Dru: You’re right about the placket – I was thinking that if my buttons suddenly just popped open, I’d be mighty embarrassed because the placket is that bit longer (really must start wearing bras…). Hope I didn’t spoil the film!

I personally prefer solid colors to strips for my polos. Strips just seem too busy to me, like too much is going on. A little distracting in a way. But sometimes I will spot a striped shirt which catches my eye. That Uniglo one is pretty cool. And I love your shoes haha.
Barbara Cassity
Audiocanyon